Being dead is nothing new for Vivia Brisk. She’s been doing it all her life. It’s staying dead that’s the problem.
When Vivia finds herself stuck in the Underworld, she turns to another hag for help.
It comes with a deadline and a price tag. Seventy years ago, Tilde was murdered and she wants Vivia to extract vengeance.
At first, Vivia thinks there’s nothing behind the claim except a good dose of paranoia, but as she digs deeper she finds it might not be so crazy after all. Someone has been methodically exterminating hags for centuries, and if Vivia doesn’t figure it out quickly, she’s going to be next…
"anyone who enjoys good writing should give it a look, but horror, paranormal, fantasy and modern fairytale fans will adore it. For a real treat get this and the Secret Dead and read them back to back."
Reviewer: Reader for Bookangel.
In A Murder of Crones, SW Fairbrother continues the adventures of Vivia Brisk, her hag hero. This is a sequel to the Secret Dead, but can be read stand-alone as the background is developed within the story.
It is hard to discuss the plot without spoiling the first book, but Vivia is back. This time she has a time limit: only one month to investigate a ninety-year-old murder after the victims demanded it. When it occurred during the blitz and everyone involved is dead, this is going to be hard even for a hag, but she has no choice. If she fails to solve it, she will die - permanently this time. Fortunately as a hag, the fact that the people involved are mostly dead isn't insurmountable. What she finds is disturbing, intriguing and keeps you hooked to the last page.
Hags, shape-shifters, fairy tales and more: with this book, the series strikes out entirely into its own mythos, and is the stronger for it. It's an excellent read, tightly plotted and the characters are distinct and vivid. Vivia is intelligent and sympathetic, if understandably a bit sharp on occasion - thirty days is not a long time to have left to live.
This is one for horror, paranormal, dark fantasy readers...actually, anyone who enjoys good writing should give it a look, but horror, paranormal, fantasy and modern fairytale fans will adore it. For a real treat get this and the Secret Dead and read them back to back.
This looks like a winner. I am starting to realize that we share a lot of the same interests here, and these horror and mystery stories are really turning out to be quite good. I am only about one tenth of the way through too so I am glad to have another to look at.
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